Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/1OJ4T6U. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. “My life plan was completely altered on July 17, 1997. While at work as a customer support manager for a software company, I started having an excruciating headache. It was like a volcano erupted in my head. Actually it was an eruption–of large and small veins in my brain. A massive hemorrhage ensued that resulted in a paralyzing stroke,” explained Julia Fox Garrison, the bestselling author and motivational speaker. The stroke was debilitating. Julia says, “Aside from the obvious physical impairments of left-sided hemiparesis with attendant numbness, tone and spasticity; I also have a condition called “Left Neglect.” My brain doesn’t recognize that I have a left side. It is a basic unawareness that the left side exists. It’s a condition that has gotten me into some unusual circumstances that sometimes leave people somewhere between bemused and bewildered, but all I can do is laugh because I have no control over it.” The physical challenges are really just the starting point, she says. “In addition to the debilitating physical limitations, there was an enormous emotional toll as I tried to reclaim my roles as working mother, wife, daughter, sister. I went through an identity crisis while recuperating. I had been climbing the corporate ladder, but post-stroke, I couldn’t even sit up straight. Going back to work was a nonstarter. I no longer could be a mother to my three-year-old son. I no longer could be a wife and partner to my husband. I needed 24/7 assistance and had to relearn the basic functions.” Julia’s journey wasn’t easy. The people you’d most expect to be there to help and support her weren’t always the allies you’d want. She says, “While struggling to regain control of my body and my life, I faced a lot of negativity from the medical community regarding my prognosis. For over nine months no one could say with any certainty that I would live. Some suggested that if I did survive, I would by wheel-chair bound with no hope of ever walking again. I realized early on that it was totally up to me to prove all those naysayers wrong.” Read the full Your Mark on the World article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/1OJ4T6U. Please consider whether a friend or colleague might benefit from this piece and, if so, share it.
#344: Stoke Survivor's Motto: 'Positive Outlook = Positive Outcome'